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The Kitchen Table

Recommend a credit card?

10 years ago

I'm looking for a new secondary card -- something I use for iTunes, my Netflix subscription, an online e-commerce site I might not have used before, that kind of thing. (And of course to use if I suddenly have an issue with my primary card when I'm vacationing, say.)

My current one is with the issuer of my primary account, which is a stupid thing to do. (Fixing this was 2013's NY resolution, but...)
I rarely, if ever, carry over a balance.

Recommendations?

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Comments (21)

Chemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana
10 years ago
Discover is my main card. They have wonderful customer service via phone.

They now have the Discover IT card that gives you your FICO score free on each statement.

Here is a link that might be useful: Discover 'IT
terilyn
10 years ago
I agree, Discover, love that cash back!
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Well, like everyone else, I agree with much of what has been said but of course, as humans, we can't leave it at that and have to put our own 2 cents in :) You need to figure out a few things about your debt. Is it a matter of you currently have 35k debt that you need to pay off and you aren't adding anything to that debt? If so, then that is great! Work on ways to save every penny you can from your monthly budget to put towards debt. If you are still adding to the debt, you need to figure out why. Have you been paying for your kid's education or any of their bills? Like someone said earlier, if this is the case, they need to pay those things themselves. If they can't get a student loan, then they can cut back on their school hours, find a job full time, and pay their way through. They can also learn to take own their own insurance and phone bills if they don't already. And, if you still can't get your head above water, tell them that they will need to start pitching in on the food budget, or even pay you rent if they wish to live at home. Some may say that is harsh, but what is the best way to prepare a child to grow up and be apart of the real world? The parent pay for everything and bail them out of every problem, then suddenly graduate college and realize they don't know how to budget their own money and end up getting stuck with debt problems or unable to save for anything they want? Or having them pay for the things they want and need while under the protection and guidance of their parents so that when they graduate and/or get married and start their own family, they know how to budget and save money. So this could be a major thing to look at. You obviously don't want to just kick your kids away and make them think you don't love them, but if they aren't responsible for their own things, you need to start holding them responsible for them. Also look at other things you could save on. If you have Cable or Dish, perhaps drop them. Most shows can now be watched online, even if it means going to youtube and seeing if anyone put it up. Perhaps revise the food budget? That's one thing my husband and I have really been working on. I have cut ours in half! I am unsure of your living conditions or what type of disease you have, but if you are able to, perhaps there are things you could do for a little extra money. Clean the homes of family and friends? Host a garage sale and have all the profit go towards your debt? Are there crafts you can sell (they usually don't bring much money in, but every little bit can help). Perhaps you have a skill or talent you can train people in? If you can find something you can do that will create extra income, do it and discipline yourself that all of that extra income will go towards your debt and can't be spent elsewhere. If you haven't already, check out various sites about cutting the budget and frugal living and as you apply those tips, use the money saved toward debt. I have 2 things left to say. The first is a tip I read about paying off debt. Write down all the various debts you owe. (To whom, who much the debt for each is, and their minimum payment). Next, order them from smallest debt to the largest. Each month, pay the minimum towards each debt, but for the smallest debt, the one listed on the top of your list, pay more. I'll give an example on a small scale. We'll say you owe $ to 3 creditors. Vista debt: 300 Min: 20 American Express debt: 1000 Min: 50 Master Card debt: 2500 Min: 100 So, you pay the 50 and the 100 to AE and MC, but for Vista, we'll say you managed to get enough extra income to pay 100 a month on it. So, for the next 3 months you get it paid off (Note, I am not calculating interest, it is not needed to get the basic concept of this). Once you paid off that Vista, that gives you $100 extra each month that you can then apply to the AE card. So, rather than paying the min 50, you are able to put 150 towards it. Once the AE is paid off, you now have 150 extra in the budget so you add that to the minimum payment you were paying on the MC which means you'll be paying 250 on it each month. With this method, you can quickly pay off debt and reduce the number of creditors you are paying because rather than spending forever trying to pay off the largest amount, or slowly paying off all at the same time, little by little, you free up money as you finish paying off creditors so you can apply more to other debt. I hope that tip helps. The last thing I have to say is short. If you already have bad credit, do not fret about it. You don't want to do anything stupid, obviously, but do not fret about past mistakes. After 7 years, bad records are taken off your credit record. I could be wrong on the 7, it may be slightly more or less, but I believe it is 7 years. I know for bankruptcies, it is 10 years before it is taken off. (But please don't go bankrupt if avoidable because we, the tax payers, as well as yourself assuming you work and pay taxes, end up paying for it through our taxes). I hope the advise I gave was helpful.
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Hi Katclaw~ I just wanted to say that I totally agree with Lindamarie. You should most definitely check out Dave Ramsey's site (link below). I honestly believe that through Dave Ramsey, God has TOTALLY changed our lives, saved our marriage and helped make our family's financial future brighter than ever. Now, while almost everyone else is looking around wondering what the heck they are possibly going to do, we are finally sitting back and breathing easy for the first time in our 18 1/2 years of marriage! It is such an incredible and liberating feeling! We are finally debt free except for our mortgage, which we just got last year when my husband finished building our dream home. However, we fully expect to have it paid off in just a few years!! Dave has an awesome book called 'The Total Money Makeover'. It is available at Amazon, Wal*Mart and on Dave's site. It is a super easy read and it is the very first step toward finding your financial peace and freedom! Dave also has a program called 'Financial Peace University'. This is a life-changing 13-week program/class that teaches you how to make the right decisions with your money. In addition to teaching you so many amazing ways to financial freedom, Dave has many, many resources available to you on his website, including what you are specifically looking for at this time, financial counselors. Plus, if you are like me and the website looks a bit overwhelming, you can call them toll-free at 1-888-227-3223 and explain your situation. One of their counselors will be happy to help you get on the right track and show you how to handle those creditors. (Just remember, FOOD, SHELTER, TRANSPORTATION and CLOTHING must come FIRST! Everyone else can wait, including credit cards. If that dings your credit, then so be it, but those 4 things must come before anything.) Also available through his website are what he refers to as 'Endorsed Local Providers' (ELPs). ELPs are providers such as Lenders, Real Estate Agents, CPAs, Insurance Agents, Tax Preparers, Attorneys, etc. who are all endorsed by Dave. They are only recommended after being very carefully screened by Dave and his staff. My husband and I have been very pleased with a couple of these who have been recommended to us. Remarkably, so far we have not had to pay one red cent for any of the advice they have provided! However, if we should need the type of service they provide in the future, we would not hesitate to use them or recommend them to our family and friends. I hope and pray this has helped you, or someone else, in some way. I'm telling you, my husband finding Dave on the radio is the best thing that ever happened to our finances and to our marriage. Just try it! What do you have to lose??? Here is a link that might be useful: DAVE RAMSEY
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DH & I also have several cards with no balance on them. We will be applying for a mortgage soon, so I asked my banker this question. He told me to cancel the majority of the cards, but to keep either a couple with fairly low limits or one card with a pretty decent limit. He said that banks like to see someone have $30,000-$40,000 worth open credit on cards (depending on your income). He says that lets them know that you have a source of available money that you can access quickly. He said they don't like to see huge amounts of open credit because that shows the potential for a problem. We pulled our own credit reports & they said that the amount of unused credit we have may actually be hurting our score. We have only a tiny fraction owed but a lot of open credit. Another thing my banker & the credit report mentioned was the ratio of how much you owe to the amount of open credit. Example: If you owe $5,000 & have two cards with a total credit limit of $20,000, cancelling one card that has a $10,000 limit can actually hurt you. Instead of having a balance that equals one quarter of your available credit, you will now owe an amt. equal to half of your available credit. If you want to cancel, make sure you write a letter to the credit card company & keep it & proof that you mailed it on file. Make sure to request that they note in your file that the card was cancelled at your request. Having a lender cancel your card can hurt your credit score. If you won't be applying for a loan any time soon, you can just leave them & they will drop off of your credit report after a few years.
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It happened to DW with our Debit credit card. We bank on line and pay 95% of our bills using on line banking. She notice a $20.00 purchase that we didn't make and notified the bank. The bank representitave told her that it was a good thing that we don't leave money in our checking account and that our over draft was maxed (Thanks to remodeling) They tried to make large pruchases from on line sites like Target, QVC, JC Penney's and Best Buy. Had we not picked up on this when we did they could have cleaned us out because the next day both our pay checks would have been directly deposited into the checking account. The bank credited our account $20 that day. Since then we now have our pay checks deposited into the saving account and tranfer it to checking as we need it. The odd thing about this is that we never use this account for online shopping. I think you stand bigger chance of fraud when using the credit card in a store rather then on line. DW set up our account so that we are alerted to any purchase made over $15. The alert message goes directly to her Blackberry so no matter where we are we are protected.
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Chi
10 years ago
I like the Costco American Express. It's 3% cash back on gas, 2% on restaurants, 2% on travel and 1% cash back. No annual fee.
sushipup1
10 years ago
If you pay of your account every month and only use it for online purchases, it really doesn't matter. Get one without an annual fee.
Rose_NW_PA
10 years ago
I too like Discover. Pay it off each month and love the cash back bonus
dedtired
10 years ago
I have a Capital One that is good for travel overseas. They do not charge an extra fee when using it abroad. However, I am going to have to look into Discover. I have another card that is my main cc and it does offer cash back. I will have to compare.
Lily316
10 years ago
Love Discover!!!
angelaid
10 years ago
I love my Costco American Express card. I use it everywhere I can and pay it off every two weeks. I think my my "Cash Back Reward" right now is about 220.00! Love getting those checks every year. Makes me feel like I just put a pair of jeans on and found money in the pocket that I forgot about. LOL
phoggie
10 years ago
Discover. They are so helpful and a nice cash back policy.
joyfulguy
10 years ago
I recommend keeping a low credit limit on cards used for online purchasing, especially from sources that you don't know well.

Store-issued cards usually charge a much higher interest rate on balances not paid in full at each billing.

Those who bought for cash from Target (and possibly other stores who haven't said anything) aren't sweating bullets over whether their credit card info may have been compromised.

Those of us who are cash customers aren't happy about the fees that the credit card companies charge the stores that are built into their pricing ... and are especially resentful of the extra fees associated with the cash-back system.

ole joyful
sherwoodva
10 years ago
Another vote for Capital One if you travel overseas. It has saved us a lot in currency exchange fees.
vnw232
10 years ago
I have a Visa with Simmons First bank in Arkansas. No annual fee. The customer service is outstanding. What they charge you will depend on your credit score but they are changing me only 7 percent APR.
katlan
10 years ago
I have Capital One. Have had it for many years. I get 1.5% cash back on everything I charge. I have my recurring monthly bills charged directly to my account. I use it to shop online, renew vehicle registrations, driver's licenses, order prescriptions, at the grocery store, gas, Christmas shopping, etc.

I pay it off every month. I earned $230. cash back in 2013! Free money.

Also, don't forget to check ebates when shopping online. Again, Free Money.
jemdandy
10 years ago
A second card for on-line purchases is a good idea. I'm thinking about getting a Visa card for my secondary. I would place a limit of maybe $500 to put a boundary on any damage that might occur from theft. Be sure that your on-line card is supported by a good policy by its company. i.e., the company will readily remove fraudlent charges. The two cards that I recommend are Master and Visa. Both of these are widely accepted. My master card has been accepted in Canada and the British Isles with the money exchange handled automatically. Another choice is a card marketed by your bank.
Elmer J Fudd
10 years ago
"I would place a limit of maybe $500 to put a boundary on any damage that might occur from theft"

Normally a cardholder isn't liable for fraudulent, unauthorized charges to a credit card. Some debit cards are different.

Check with your card issuer, you might have a pleasant surprise coming. I know that's how mine works, so if yours doesn't, you may want to look for a new issuer.
eccentric
10 years ago
I agree with snidely. We are covered for our credit cards.

We do currently have 2 Cdn. travel reward credit cards that we pay fees for but when my husband retires in 2 years we will just have 2 regular credit cards. We want 2 just in case there is a problem with one - as in it is used fraudulently - or is stolen when on a trip. Not that we will be travelling much post my husband's retirement, but all it takes is for your purse/wallet to be stolen while staying in a hotel and you will have a problem. We leave one in the safety deposit box (I know, there could be issues with that as well) but new cards are not issued immediately to the regular Joe. At the moment we are going through the hassle created by having one of our Aeroplan rewards cards sold to another Cdn. bank - actually to the bank where we in fact do bank - but since we are being sold we are not eligible for any of the sign up bonuses and fee waivers - there are a lot of unhappy people out there!
OklaMoni
10 years ago
If you shop on Amazon, consider getting the Amazon Visa Card. Great for cash back when ordering from amazon. ;)

Moni
Hellion
10 years ago
I am with Moni. I have an Amazon Visa also that I only use for online purchases and get credits for Amazon purchases.
OklaMoni
10 years ago
I am actually using my Amazon card as my primary card right now. It agrews points even when not shopping on Amazon, just not as fast... but can still be used when shopping Amazon. :)
margaretoh
10 years ago
I like my Discover. I got it because there is a store here in northern Ohio that only accepts Discover. Marcs.
lydia1959
10 years ago
I have the Amazon Visa too... almost every month I get some cash back I can use on my next purchase.

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